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Thomas Tuchel, the head coach of Chelsea, has backed under-fire goalkeeper Edouard Mendy after another unimpressive performance in goal and argued that his number one goalie lacks “a little bit of luck.”
The German was questioned once more about Mendy’s play after Chelsea’s 2-1 win over West Ham on Saturday.
The 29-year-old was probably at fault for the goal that gave the visitors the lead, as he failed to punch clear a looping header from a set-piece, allowing Michail Antonio to score 61 minutes later.
The Senegalese was then involved in a contentious altercation with Jarrod Bowen, in which the West Ham attacker was ruled to have fouled Mendy after the two collided inside the penalty area.
Maxwel Cornet scored in the 89th minute, but referee Andrew Madley disallowed the goal following VAR review.
Mendy writhed on the ground in apparent agony as Cornet scored, but Madley disallowed the goal after VAR intervention.
Mendy, who could have handled the back-pass from Reece James better when coming off his line, was given a tremendous break.
As a result, there are issues as to whether the 2021 FIFA Best Goalkeeper of the Year should be removed from the Chelsea goal after a string of subpar performances.
However, Tuchel, in a curious reference to the historical French leader Napoleon, stated that Mendy is only a victim of bad luck and insisted that the situation surrounding his recent decline in performance is “calm.”
“It’s a very sensitive position in football in general. And it’s not everything that’s just pure quality and about decision-making,” Tuchel told reporters. “It’s about the feeling…that you feel the confidence and sometimes, also, it’s having a bit of the luck.
“Somebody sent me an interesting quote about Napoleon. He asked his generals
that they should not only be the best quality but also a bit lucky. And this is what you need also for leaders and for goalkeepers.
“They can have the kind of momentum that, if they make a little mistake, it’s not punished… as it is at the moment. He gets punished for not a lot of what he does wrong. In my mind, the situation is calm, we have two fantastic goalkeepers, two fantastic guys.”
Kepa Arrizabalaga, whose summer loan transfer to Napoli fell through, has been suggested as a replacement for Mendy in Tuesday’s Champions League match against Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia.
Mendy’s recent decline in performance has prompted this idea.
And the Chelsea manager refused to rule out giving the Spaniard an opportunity to push his cause for greater playing time, revealing how he convinced the £71 million goalkeeper to remain at Stamford Bridge after weighing his options.
“Yes, he tried, he tried [find a new club]. He checked his options, which we were aware of. They were not satisfying for him nor for us. So he stayed,” Tuchel added. “I’m very happy about that. I was always very clear with him, directly to him, that I want him to stay.
“And, in my point of view, he is absolutely ready to play. It’s on us if we give him the chance or not, but he is ready, in how he behaves, how he trains.”
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